Day 132: May 11th – Doodletown Catbird

Sunny, cool (mid 60s) and still windy

       It’s still quite windy although the sun as broken through making for fine lighting conditions.  The wind, as mentioned previously, can drive birders and photographers nuts as the birds seek to keep out of harm’s way since they cannot hear approaching predators.  And so, I continually heard quite a few warblers today here in Doodletown (yes, it’s a real place in Harriman SP) including Cerulean, Redstarts, Hooded, Common yellowthroats, and even a Kentucky, and although I could catch a glimpse of each of these birds, the foliage between them and me made a quality shot virtually impossible. 

       One bird did cooperate, however, and that was the Gray catbird.  The catbird, named for its typical cat-like call, is a member of the family Mimidae.  The three members of this family common the NE United States mimic or imitate other birds of the forest.  The Catbird can be quickly separated from the others, however, in that it will only offer one verse of each bird it is mimicking while the others, namely the Brown Thrasher (2 times each verse) and the Northern mockingbird (Three or more times) do multiple renditions of the songs. 

       While 50% or more of the catbird’s diet consists of small berries, it also feeds on insects.  It has been seen hovering over bodies of water and flycatching.  The area of Doodletown was a Revolutionary War period town which survived up until the State of New York took it over for inclusion into Harriman State Park.  Many of the old ornamental shrubs and fruit trees still exist on the property which may account for the large population of the catbirds. 

       And so, while capturing the images of the target species, the warblers, may not have panned out as hoped for, the Gray catbirds came to the rescue and have provided us with today’s images of the day.